How Pablo's Resistance to Sleep Aids in Homeschooling

It all started like this. Any parents knows that one of the classic stalling techniques is to ask questions. Pablo has recently become a MASTER. As a dodge, I gave Pablo a notebook and pencil and told him to write down any questions. I promised that I would answer all his questions the next morning. I honestly had no idea how amazing the questions would be and where they would lead.


Night 1: only 7 questions. All were about whether you can choose when your baby is born. So we talked about C sections, why some people think they are a good idea to do in a non-emergency way, and the risks associated with making that choice. And how I made the choice to let both him and his sister come naturally, without cutting me open.




Night 2: questions 8-30 (see pic above). No, don't worry, there weren't actually 22. Most said things like "14: see 15. 15: see 16" I was laughing so hard I almost woke the rest of the family. My favorite was "What do you mean when you talk?" At least, that's what it looked like. Pablo's writing is great when in a straight line, but he was writing all tiny and crazy and in little boxes he had drawn. What he meant was "How do you make yourself talk," ie how do we produce sound.

So this morning we looked in our handy "How We Work" book, and discovered the wonders of the larynx and vocal cords. We explored how the sounds we make are shaped by our lips, tongue, and mouth, all without us really thinking about it. We had so much fun creating crazy sounds!

Other questions were about light. How do light bulbs work, why do they break, how are LEDs different from regular (oops, still need to look that one up!), how do light switches work, etc....

So this morning we got out our handy hand me down jr circuit board and built a light. We learned about conductivity, open circuits, closed circuits, etc. Who knew this was how I would spend the day?!




The best part is that Fridays are our days off from homeschooling, assuming we have gotten our stuff done. I had thought he would need a break. Turns out, he would only need a break if I were the one creating the schedule. I don't think he even realized any schooling took place. This is such a great reminder of how easy it is when I don't fight against the flow of life with my kiddos.

Oh, and some other questions included: what is in pillows?, how do you make things comfy?, and do you like these squiggles over here on the side that I drew? God, this child makes me laugh.